Who would have thought that The Sims series would be turning eighteen years old this year, as it only seems like yesterday that I was coming home from school to waste my nights away playing one of the greatest franchises of all time, The Sims. While it’s a feat of its own to still be such a successful franchise after 18 years of development, what is even more impressive though is the fact that 🍰the simple life simulator game has sold over 200 million copies worldwide since the game first launched in the year 2000.

With constant content still being released on a day to day basis – whether it is officially created or fan created – it is no wonder that you still see the game popping up on the list of best-selling game💎s, as fans continue to crave the release of the next game expansion, game pack, or even stuff pack.

However, with new content releasing so frequently, it is easy to understand why players quickly get so overwhelmed when skipping through the game, as many players often overlook the fact that many of their games aꦍre filled with hidden features such as secrets, skills, traits, items, locations, and even Sims.

Thankfully though, we here at TheGamer have you covered and have created a list that details 10 secrets that you most likely didn’t know about The Sims and 10 cheats toও give🐽 you that little bit of an extra helping hand.

20 Secret: Get Down In The Brindleton Bay Lighthouse ꦚ

Let your Sims run wild as they partake in some rather inappropriate activities at the Brindleton Bay Lighthouse. Just remember to knock first though, as the long-awaited public Woohoo has finally been implemented into The Sims 4.

This, however,🔯 isn’t 👍exactly the first time that the rather private activity has made a public appearance, as it was often a required task for completing specific Whims throughout other installments of the series.

Before you get too excited though, you should be warned that getting down and dirty in the l🌠i🅠ghthouse isn’t exactly very private. So, you better hope that your Sims aren’t embarrassed very easily, as your “alone” time is being showcased for your entire neighborhood to witness.

19 🌃 Cheat: Gain Full Control Over Your Pets

When The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs was first announced, fans were beyond excited – however – that excitement was short l🌊ived when it was revealed that the expansion pack would not feature controllable pets – which was arguably one of the expansions most loved features in previous installments.

Thankfully though, a player by the name of AOM has created a mod that allows players to gain full control over their pets - allowing them to perfor⭕m all normally expected interactions. However, AOM has stated that the mod is still very heavily underdeveloped, but believes that more features and interactions should be made available at a later date.

Despite the fact that th✃e mod does come with quite a few hiccups, I think it is fair to say that what the mod does offer definitely outweighs its slight flaws and is well worth downloading if you wish to be ab♋le to control your pets.

18 Secret: Help Influence The Gender Of Your Sim Baby 💖

Surprisingly though, another feature that is particularly unknown by most players is the fact that you can actually influence the gender of your baby while pregnant. This𒐪 should come as a surprise to mo😼st people – especially for those that are hoping for a specific gender – as the game doesn’t really specify exactly what players need to do in order to influence their babies gender.

While this is different for every game in the series, players in The Sims 4 can influence the chance of having a baby boy by eating carrots and listening to alternative music while pღregnant. However, to influence your chance of having a little girl, simply listen to pop music and indulge in some strawberries.

17 🎃 Cheat: Shower Your Neighborhood With Rain & Snow

Sick and tired of spending money on those costly expansions? ౠWell now you don’t have to as one clever member of the community has created a mod that replicates some of the features that you would have otherwise seen in a Seasons expansion pack.

Complete with animated falling rain and falling snow😼flakes, the creator – Snowhaze, who was growing tired of the eternal summers – wanted to create a mod that ♉would give players a bit more variety in weather. This will ultimately also benefit those that enjoy creating short films and even detailed photos.

While there is nothing yet announced – apart from some very subtle clues – you won’t be seeing the true effects of a Seasons expansion pack anytime soon, making 💯this parꦺticular mod a rather perfect substitute while you wait.

16 Secret: Play Detective & Unco🐲ver The Mystery Of Bella Goth 🐲

Arguably one of the biggest mysteries to have ever been featured in The Sims series is the mysterious disappearance of one of The Sims most famous characters, Bella Goth. That’s right, the very same Bella Goth that was featured as a pre-made character in the original Sims game.

Bella’s disappearance first began after the release of The Sims 2, where she was prominently missing from the game. It is believed that at some point during the 25 years period between The Sims and The Sims 2, Bella disappeared after last ♐being seen at Don Lothario’s ho🍬me.

Many believe that after reading several books during The Sims 3, that Bella may have been murder, kidnapped, or even abducteღd by aliens. With some even believing that nothing ever happened to Bella, but she simply decided to never return home and to live out the rest of her life in SimNation.

Whether or not we will truly solve the mystery of Bella Goth, many have claimed that at some point while playing throughout the series that they have spotted a woman that very closely 𒉰resembles that of Bella Goth.

15 🐲 Cheat: Add Custom Created Content Free Of Charge To Your Game

We all love free content, especially when it is items that have been custom created and would not have previously been introduced into the game – such as unique hair𒉰styles, clothing, jewellery, piercings, and even shoes.

So, you’ll be happy to know that you no longer have to fork out those big dollars to purchase ﷽those ever-so-frequent Stuff Packs, as there is a community center – dubbed “The Gallery” - that fans can use to download custom created content. This content includes CAS items such as recolors, new meshes, makeup, outfits, new lots, and even new building items.

Despite fans being able to upload custom content, The Gallery is definitely lacking i⭕n freedom and is very limited in what players can alter. However, by doing a simple google search for custom fan content, you’ll find several trusted websites that provide extensive content for almost every single item you can ever🌠 think of.

14 ൩ Secret: Adventure To Hidden Locations

Does your Sim live for adv🎃enture? Well, this rather unknown s🥀ecret is perfect for those that love exploring.

Located in Oasis Springs, is a secret lot that many pl🌱ayers don’t even know exists as not only is it challenging to get to, but it also requires a maxed-out Handiness level in order to pass through the hidden entrance. Despite its rather challenging entrance, the area does boast a number of useful items such as Onion, Sage, Lily, Potato, and even Mushrooms. However, it i💃s the mineable rocks, frogs, and even the rare Batfish that make this area so unique.

The Forgotten Grotto isn’t the only area that your Sims can visit, as hidden within Foundry Cove, your Sim is able to find a tree that will grant them permission to access – witꩲhout any requirements -the elusive area of Sylvan Glade.

💧However, much like the Forgotten Grotto the hidden area of Sylvan Glade also grants the player access to items such asꦕ Cherry Trees, Pear Trees, Snapdragons, Lily’s, Bluebell’s, Strawberry’s, Mushroom’s, and even Basil. Plant life isn’t the only thing unique to this area, as wildlife such as frogs and even the exclusive Treefish can be found in this rather stunning secret lot.

13 Cheat: Fasteﷺr Eating & Showering

Despite The Sims bei𓄧ng very heavily based around time managꦓement, there is no denying just how frustrating it is to not only shower, but to also eat at the time that it takes to complete these very simple and straightforward tasks is nearly unbelievable.

With it taking over an hour and a half to shower and over 45 minutes to eat, it is easy t🔯o understand just how lengthy this rather simple task can be. Thankfully though, members of the community have helped solve this issue by creating a numb🎃er of mods that significantly reduce the amount of time that it takes your Sims to eat, drink, and even shower. While the times are still not completely perfect, they have helped to make these everyday tasks much more enjoyable.

These mods have helped reduced the time that it takes to shower to just 7-10 minutes. While eating has also been signific🔯antly reduced by minimizing the amoun🌞t of times that your Sim stops to talk and watch TV, while also taking more consecutive bites without being distracted.

12 Secret: Relive A Viral Video By Letting Your Catꦰ Ride The Robot Vacuum

Let’s be honest, we have all watched those hilarious viral cat videos at some point in our lives. So – if like myself – you simply can’t get enough of animals performing hilarious stunts for your own entertainment, The Sims 4: Cats & Dogs will definitely not disappoint.

Much like all previous Sims expansions, a series of new items are always made available – most notably this time is the Robot Vacuum, which can be used to clean up acꦅcidents made by your pets, hairballs, and even messes made by toddlers and children. This isn’t all that this vacuum can be used for, as cats also have the ability to ride around on top of the vacuum – complete with costumes and all.

In what seems to be a current trend in the gamin🔯g industry,൩ it should come as no surprise that EA wanted to use this pop-culture phenomenon to their advantage as they took heavy inspiration from one particular viral video that featured a duck chasing a cat that was sitting upon a robot vacuum.

11 𓂃 Cheat: Unlimited Money 👍

We all understand the struggle of money – whether you’re barely getting by or getting crippled by outstanding debt – The Sims can often be quite the struggle, especially when lacking in much-needed funds to pay bills, or to simply 💞eat.

Thankfully though, there is a solution to solving all of your money woes as much like previous installa🔜tions of the series, The Sims 4 has an unlimited money cheat. This cheat, which can be entered by first pressing CTRL+SHIFT+C and then typing “motherlode” wi๊ll grant 🌌your Sim $50,000 Simoleons.

While this may not seem like𝐆 a lot at first, simply copy and paste the cheat code several times and you’ll have more than enough money then you’ll ever need.